Sunday, September 09, 2007

More Colan Funny Pages

Like I said before, I sure envy "realistic" artists that actually draw really well, like Gene Colan.His poses are solid yet wacky at the same time.The few times I've had the opportunity to use artists like this, they had an easier time adapting to more cartoony styles that I needed for animation. Plus they could draw things from any angle and had good senses of composition.

MARIE SEVERIN

Here's a little known Marvel artist: Marie Severin.

She was the one who I think designED Marvel's color style, which was quite different than the other comic brands at the time. She used a lot of subtle colors and greys. She created a real mood for the Marvel artists and stories.

She also drew really well! She was probably their best "cartoony artist":

Marie could make expressions even with characters who had masks covering their faces!

She did a lot of stories for Not Brand Ecchh. She drew very solid anatomy, funny poses and could even caricature the other Marvel artists' style!

I especially loved the way she caricatured Ditko.Ditko created the rubbery bent legs and distorted poses that so many other Spiderman artists followed after.

My idea of a really great creative studio is to mix animation artists and cartoonists with some of these solid draftsmen from related fields of cartooning.

The different approaches-if encouraged - allow all the artists to grow and create things they would not have thought of in their own inbred environments.

Jim Smith, Vincent Waller and Bob Camp helped us more cartoony-animation artists aim higher with our skills and allowed us to break out of many animation cliches.

14 comments:

Yesterday, I attempted to purchace a DVD of the APC from my local DVD vendor. The DVD was shrink-wrapped and all and sold as new. Yet, when I opened up the case, no DVDs were included inside. The store only could offer store credit and the empty copy of the APC was thier last. Had to settle for the Beavis and Butthead movie. Anyway, they said it was a manufacturer defect and that it's rare but happens. Just thought you may want to call up whoever packages your DVD's and give 'em hell for selling empty DVD boxes with your name all over them. Sorry to complain, still a huge fan.

i just picked up a bunch of old MADs at a used bookstore and was marveling at Wally Wood's cartoony stuff. so much detail! i have also thought that Marie Severin always kinda gets overlooked when people talk about great comic artists, even when EC & Marvel get mentioned.

One of Marie Severin's funniest works in the early 90's,was the Pulverizer, a parody of Marvel Comics The Punisher. It is the most entertaining thing Marvel did then alongside saide making you by the same book with four different covers.

As great as Ms. Severin was and is, I'm pretty sure that she didn't color for Marvel until several years into the "Marvel Age". Stan Goldberg did a lot of coloring, as did George Roussos, though I'm not sure who handled the covers.

Marie Severin's stuff is great! She was also a colorist for EC during the 1950's, and can draw like nobody. ...She's also John Severin's younger sister--he drew for EC, Marvel, MAD, Cracked...etc. Talented family!

John - if you pick up Tales Of Terror and Foul Play both by Grant Geissman you find some pages on Marie Severin in there as well. Great artist and colorist. Also of course all the rest of the great EC comic artists. Grant Geissman is also by the way a great guitar player by trade and EC & Mad magazine nut.